100 x 100 cm | 39 x 39 in
Subject: Objects / Still Life
'Red Charms', oil on canvas. Keren Luchtenstein’s figurative paintings in oil are studies of objects that belong to her. Keren loves the process of painting and enjoys the way that in a sort of alchemical process, blobs of pigment are transformed into the illusion of reality on a two-dimensional surface. The work celebrates the sensuous pleasure derived from looking at the play of light and shade on textures, and the subtlety of colour. Keren is interested in the emotional attachment we form with certain belongings.
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Avidly collected by patrons such as Sir Paul Smith, Keren Luchtenstein's still lifes see the observation of objects with almost irrational reverence. Luchtenstein’s attentive and nostalgic paintings playfully investigate the resonance of objects and the powers we give them to protect us.
Keren Luchtenstein makes illusionistic oil paintings portraying items which appear to occupy the viewer’s space. As a child Keren remembers the sensory experience of examining objects with a heightened obsessive focus. Through her paintings she aims to communicate the pleasure thus derived.
This connection with childhood feelings informs the subject-matter - the yearning for beautiful shoes and ornaments, the emotional attachment to well-used utility items and to inherited objects. Much of Keren's work relates to fashion and textiles - clothes and interiors being an abiding delight to her.
The paintings reflect her personality- at the same time quiet and controlled but passionate and emotional. Despite the skill-based approach to the work, the paintings aren’t about virtuoso technique, they are about the feelings evoked by contemplation of the objects portrayed.
Keren studied textile design at art school in the 1970’s, gaining an MA at the RCA in 1980 before pursuing a career in illustration. She has been painting full – time for several years.